bald

Etymology

From Middle English balled, ballid, bald (“bald”), of uncertain origin. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (“ball, round object, knoll, head”). Compare with Old Danish bældet (“bald”). Alternate etymology has Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌰- (bala-, “shining, grey (of body)”), Old English bǣl (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”) (both from Proto-Germanic *bēlą), Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”) and ballë (“forehead”).

adj

1. Having no hair, fur or feathers.
   Porn didn't revolutionize our pubic hair overnight […] but the general gist is that the vast majority of porn performers in film and magazines had full bushes until Hustler magazine printed a bald vulva, a so-called ‘pink shot’, in 1974. 2019, Lynn Enright, Vagina: A Re-Education, Atlantic Books
2. (specifically) Having no hair on the head, or having a large area of bare scalp on top of the head although hair may still grow on the sides and back of the head.
   a bald man with a moustache
   There has never been a bald James Bond nor a hairless contestant on Love Island. Growing up, bald men were never the superheroes and always the villains. 2021-03-14, Michael Segalov, “It can leave your self-image fractured”, in The Guardian
3. (of animals) Having areas (of fur or plumage) that are coloured white, especially on the head.
4. (by extension) Denuded of any covering.
   The bald cypress is a tree that loses its leaves in winter.
5. Of tyres: whose surface is worn away.
6. (of a statement or account) Unembellished.
   Such is a bald statement of the singular and romantic series of events which centred public attention upon this Lancashire tragedy. 1922, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Black Doctor
   The NYSDOT, through the DSEIS, makes a bald assertion in the DSEIS, but does not explain in detail, why it feels that the Short Bypass Tunnel provides a more appropriate and respectful setting for the WTC Memorial. 1994, Route 9A Reconstruction Project, Battery Place to 59th St.
   Here the existential process (“there is”) functions as a bald assertion of fact, with no hedging or concessions to the observer's subjectivity, while the nominalization (“a significant role-reversal”) activates a pre-existing category from the discourse of Literary Criticism, into which the present "specimen" will be slotted. 2006, João Ferreira Duarte, Alexandra Assis Rosa, Teresa Seruya, Translation Studies at the Interface of Disciplines, page 115
7. (of a statement) Without evidence or support being provided.
   The plaintiff in this case must satisfy the judge that she has visible means, the mere bald statement that she has visible means is not suflicient. 1891, The Australian law times - Volumes 12-13, page 61
   The question regarding this issue is whether the applicant raised sufficient doubts regarding adoption and use of the official mark by the respondent as to have the effect that the respondent's bald assertion is not enough to provide evidence that the official mark was adopted and used or whether a negative inference should be drawn from the failure of the respondent to provide further evidence. 2001, Canadian patent reporter, page 194
   The Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 gives police officials the power and discretion to conduct identification procedures 'A bald statement that the accused is the person who committed the crime is not enough ... the greatest care should be taken to test the evidence. 2005, Colin Tredoux, Psychology and Law, page 198
   The EC's bald assertion of compliance in the context of this scientific and factual landscape highlights the fact that it has made no effort to demonstrate how its new import ban satisfies the conditions of a "provisional" ban under Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement or "rationally relates" to or is "reasonably supported" by a risk assessment for purposes of Article 5.1 of the SPS Agreement. 2010, World Trade Organization, Dispute Settlement Reports 2008: Volume 11, page 3959

noun

1. (Appalachia) A mountain summit or crest that lacks forest growth despite a warm climate conducive to such, as is found in many places in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

verb

1. (intransitive) To become bald.